Apparatus for hoisting liquids from wells.



D. D. MGCALL. APPARATUS FOR HOISTING LIQUIDSFROM WELLS.

APPLIGATION rrr'gn SEPT. 10.1912. l LWOBS. Patented 0@z.28,1913.

2 smmgggsm 1.

- momen? i ,x D. D. MGQALL. APRARATUS FOR HOISTING LIQUIDS FROMV'WELLS.

` APPLICATION FILED' SEPT. 10, 1912. Y.

Patented 05528, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wrm/58358 fr A UNITED STATES VOI? HOUSTON, TEXAS.'

DUNCAN D. MCCALL,

PATENT OFFICE.

APFARATUS FDR H OISTING LIQUIISS FRGM WELLS.

Specification of Letters Iat'eiit.

.Patented m28.191s.

Application ledlseptember 10, 1912. Serial No. 719,563.

To all 'whomz't may concern Be it known that I, DUNCAN D. MCCAEL,

' a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Houston, 'in the county of Harris and State-of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Apparatus for Hoisting- Liquids from iellsnof` which the foliowing is a full,E clear, and exact description.

This invention relatesA to apparatus vfor raising' liquid from wells by mea-ns of a compressed tluid,..such as air or lother vapors or gas, and has referencemore 'particularly to the class comprising a member carrying a compresseduid, a member 'used as a cylinder for the'liquid to be hoisted, and ya member conveying said liquid to a desired place, ytogether with means associated with they above members whereby the flowniay be controlled.'

An object o f the invention is to provide an inexpensive apparatus, simple and duthe hoisting 0f iiquni-isvper'formed byrit rable in construction, which hasfewmoving y parts, their motion and naturea-being such as not to wear them or require any Aspecial attention.

Another object-'of the invention 1s to pr o' vide anapparatus that ivill leave the liquid in the Well always under normalv pressure' "f compressed Afluid, a din u "liicl'rthe corn-v such wells is rapidly diminislied,rand `it is'- iquid in the well', the supplyofliquid in v explained by the fact'tl'iat the' f liiidipresslire forces the liquid back to thefslii'pply veins or checks their 'supply by'saidweiris.Y To' obvia'te this-and maintain the vsupplyn oriria'l I have inventedthc apparatus`-hereinafter I Y'. described.'

Reference is to i hadto theaccompany- 'mg drawings forming a part of this specifiT cation. in which like charactersptfie'ference indicate corrcspondingpartsin arithe views,

V and in Which-+- l. Figure 1 is an elevation of faiieinbodif ment of my invention, showing.its-doper- ;ivposition vin a' well; Fig. 2- is averticalgv t section through same st the' head'of the well; Fig. 3 is a similarsectionshoiving the connection and operative position of fluid and liquid conduits, the cylinder and check valve;' Fig. 4 is also a similar section showing the structure at the foot of the well and the position of the check valve; Fig. 5

is aside elevation showing theA connection I 'of the fluid conduits'roni'compresecr to the head ofthe apfparatus, and the means for operating the i samefoi-operating the above vstated well; 'and Figs. 83nd 9 show a modified form of my apparatus.

Before proceeding to a more detailed-deiid admission and eirliaustfrom said head; Fig. 6 is a vertical section4 A through the valve for theadmission andex- `i haast of figlia;- Fig. 7 is a pian View of the.

sci-iption .of my invention it must be underf stood that the `'compressed fiuid may operate a series of vwells' each provided with `my apparatus, andal central pressure reservoir may be introduced between the pressure carrying line and theoutlet fof the compressor`v cylinder-for a more uniform `flow and pres- ,sure in the line and .in the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings', 10 is 'afii'uid 'compressonpreferably air, and ll isa. tank from which-the compijesson'draws the airby means ofpipes 1Q. vv The*pressure of-aifi` inv the tank'llis belowatmc'spheric and vis regj ulated vby the -ten'si-oriff' afspriiig, 121.'p'lacedj-r von the s'ter'n'l o'f'anradiiiission valve-'cpv ftfertical, thrcuglilbore 41 9 and `a horizontal site. thecOnIiectiOn 18 's oasv to guide theoy f A' lindri'ca'l piston rod.21.. 'of the v'cylintlrical" 'valvev 22 positioned in vthe bore-20.. The cylindrical valve Q2 at the'end opposite 4the rod Qlis provided with 1-centrallaxiahbore.23l

lhaving an opening 24 on the cylindricals'urface of the valve, and is adapted toregister vwith the vertical bore 19 in the lower'end i of thevalve casing 17 only. Through this bore23 air is forced into the apparatus from the' compressor.. A throughbore 25 normal to the axis of the cylindrical casing .17 and in ,thev same plane with the 'opening 24 is provided in' the said valve.` `The bore .25de ada ted-to register .with the bore 19 aboveau below in the vaiire coniugi?, and;

through this bore' the tluid pressure in the apparatus is reduced'to the desired amount by means of the admission valve in the tank 11. A' body portion is left between the two t bores 23 and 25, and it is provided with a piston ring to prevent leakage between said bores and the bore 20 of the casing 17 For the same reason a stuing box is provided at the end of the valve casing 17 where the .3 piston rod 21 projects. The rod 21 is provided with a yoke 26 adapted to slide only, and provided with two surfaces 27-28 adapted to engage projections or lugs-29 and 30 respectively, placed on the respecl tive faces of the disk 31. The disk 31 is provided with a shaft 32 driven at the desired speed and in any desired manner.. The lug 29 is integral with one of the faces of the disk 31, while the lug 30 is fixed to the opposite face of the disk by means of abolt 33. 'A slot 34 is also provided in the lug 30, and a series of holes 35 in the disk 31 for the bolt 33, so that the lug 30 can be advanced or retarded with reference to the fixed lug 29. The purpose of this will appear hereinafter. 1t is easily seen that by the rotation of the disk 31 the yoke 26 is alternately translated in one or the other direction, and, in consequence, the piston valve 22 is similarly translated, and therefore alternate communication between the lower part of the bore 19 in the casing 17 is established, With the opening 24 of the bore 23 and with the bore 25, both of the valve 22. The purposeof this will be explained later in the` descri tion.

A c eck valve casing 36 is provided above the exhaust and T-member 16, having a valve 37 so disposed that when the fluid 40 pressure is cut olf from the apparatus the pressure in the apparatus cannot be higher than the atmospheric pressure. The lower part of the bore 19 of the valve casin 17 1s connected with' the pipe line 38 (see 2 and 3) extending a little above the natural level of the liquid in the well', and at its lower end bein providedv with a T-member 39 so as to ba e the flow of the compressed fluid on the liquid. On both the T-member 5G 39 and pipe 38 a head 40 is mounted, concentric with the line, and carrying a cyl inder 41 at its lower end, so that it may be said that this cylinder is suspended on the head 40 attached to the line 38. Inclosing 55 the cylinder 41, and having a predeterminet Clearance 42 between them and concentric with the said cylinder 41 is a cylindrical shell 43, all practically the same length and having their upper and lower edges at nearly the same level.' The lower end of the shell 43 is provided with a reduction 44 i carrying a nipple 45 of the same internal diameter as the cylinder 41. A check valve 46 is attached to the nipple so as to admit the liquid only inwardly and check its outigs.

How through the said nipple. The-upper end of the shell vk43l is also provided with a reduction 47 carrying a niple 48 similar to the nipple 45, and a chec valve casing 49. The reduction 47 is attached to the 7.,* head 40 by means of rivets 50, and by means of these rivets, and others below (not shown in the drawings) the cylinder 41 and shell 43 are maintained concentric to each otherf The check valve casing 49 is provided with y a valve 51 l'iavingl a' regular seat .52 and. an additional support 53 provided in the spider member 54 positioned in the lower part el' the casing. The additional support helps: the yvalve 51 to withstand the hydra/isiath.V y head ,when the apparatus is in action, as the valve is so positioned as to allow the liquid to pass up only. kThe valve '51,' as can be seen from Fig. 3, is mounted on the pipe line 38 and uses the sameas a stem for its guidance. 1

To the upper end of the check valve casing 49 a pipe line 55 is connected which projects through the top 56 of the well casing 58 and is concentric with the line 38 and 90 provided with a T-member 57 which rests on the top 56 and supports the entire apparatus freely and loosely in the well casing 58. The T-member 57 is provided with an outlet for liquid 59, and a stuiling box G0 95 through which the 11ne 38 projects, the uur ppse of said box being to eliminate lealiage tween the air line and the T-member 57. The outlet or discharge 59 is provided with a. check valve 61 so as tio-diminish the hydrostatic head on the check valve 51.

In the modified form of my apparatus the air line 38 is connected to thehead 40 of cylinder 41 similarly as in the above described construction. A member 62 is at- 101, tached to the lower end of the cylinder 41 and is provided with a nipple 45 and check valve 46 at the lower end, and with a nipple 63v and-check valve casing 49 at the-up r end and parallel tothe cylinder 41. check valve casing 49 is rovided with a pipe line 55 forming the con uit for the liquid to be hoisted. The upper part of the well casing is similar to that above describedonly having diii'erent means for suspending the ap-` 1111 paratus 1n the casing. Thlsmodlfied construction may preferably be usedv in wells of larger diameters.

The compressed air of the running compressor is continually applied in the conuit duit 18 and maintained in same at a desired pressure by means of a safety pressure valve 18.` Through the medium of the rotating disk 31 the lug 30 displaces the lug 26, and thereby the cylindrical valve 22 is placed as 125 shown in Fig. 6; then the compressed' air from the conduit 18 through the bore 29 of the valve casing 17 is conveyed to the bore 23, to the surface opening 24 of the cylindrical valve 22 and lower part of the rer` 1:1-

he ne tical bore 19, into the air line 38, and lfinds its escape through the T-meiiiber 39 at the foot of the air line and at the top of the cylinder 41. The water level i-n the cylinder 41 before the pressure is applied in the saine (or at atmospheric pressure) is of the same level as it is in the well casing, and the same level of water is in the space between the shell 43 and the cylinder 41. The compressed air forced through the air line 3 8 j forms a piston in the cylinder 41 and forces the liquid out of the said cylinder through the reduction 44, thus seatin e valve 46'and forcing the liqui through the clearance 42 formed by .thecylinder 41 and the shell 43 and throughthe -check valve 51 and out of the well.l

When t-he apparatus is to its fullcapacity the motion of the piston slide valve 22 is so arranged that the yoke 26' is returned by the lug 29 of the flange 31 to the original position from which it was displaced by the lug 30 in the same interval of time as it requires to compressair to force the liquid from its upper level in thecylinder 41 to its lower extremity. When this takesv place the compressed air is c iit oil' from t ie air line 38, and the bore 25 of the air line, but the pressure in the line being higher than the atmospheric will rapidly rush into the intake tank 11 of the compressor through the conduit 15 and fill same until its pressure is equal to the atmosp'heric, and if the pressure in the line is still above the atmospheric it will lind its escape through the check valve 37 placed above. the T-member 16 on the valve casing 17. As

i the'compressor continues to take the air :from the intake tank 11 and sends it to the.

conduit 1S, the pressure 'in said tank, as above stated, being regulated by the tension of the spring 12, it is always below atmospheric,` therefore, the pressure in the air line 38 and cylinder 41 will fall below the atmospheric also. The liquid in the pipe line and passage 42 -is cli-ecked'from backe ingby the check valve 51, and the hydrostatic head being constant in the well forces the liquid into the cylinder 41 through the check alve 46 at its foot to the level in the y 'well. and even higheras the pressure in the line is below atmospheric, :is-above stated. .it this moment, when thel water, reaches its higher level in the cylinder 41, the cylindrical slide valve 22 (2t-scribed, and another cycle takes place. p

lt can be seen from the drawings' that b'y vthe displacement of the lug 30 on the disk 31 the time of opening and closing the slide valve 22 i.s`variedso that the compressed the check' cylindrical'slide valve 22 registers with the f piston valve 22 is balanced.

ainadmits ythe compressed air through t e air line, asl above the exhaust isl opened asY above described. Therefore the hydrostatic head of the Well yWill force the fallen level of water cinto the cylinder 41 --up to balancev the reduced pres- A sure produced -by the suction of the coinpressor and regulated by the ytension of the spring 12 into v*the 'admissionl tank 11,'as

a'bove described. That tis to say,'the reduce tion of pressure inthe apparatus remains stationary until the valve 22 again admits repeated. f

. It -is again pointed out that the ,check .-l

valve 46 at the foot of the cylinder 41 prevents any pressure being applied to t-lie liquid inthe well proper, so as to .maintain theinatural How in the well frointhe lvein undisturbed.' The liquid in theapparatiis hoisted by the compressed air is instantly replacedV by the same volume bythe hydrostatic hea'd formed by the liquid iii-, tliewell and in theapparatus, and with thev pressure in the well always normalor atmospheric.

no matter what pressure is employed in the apparatus. p i 1. The valve casing 17 is provided with a fluid passage 20, shown in dotted lines in y Fig. 6, so that pressure on both sides of .Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to'secure by Let-4 ters Patentis l. The combination of a fluid compressor having an admission tank provided with,`

means for 'adjusting the pressure yinsaid ico tank not exceeding the atmsphericA pressure, and an apparatus of the class described comprising a cylinder, a luidline, a liquid line, a valve interposed between said fluid line, the exhaust of said compressor and thecomprising acylinder having a fluid admis-v sion and exhaust from the same duid linel at one end and a liquid admissionA and eir-- haust at the `other end, av valve casinghaving ,an admission and exhaustv opening for fluid and associated -vvithsaid fluid'line, a, cylindrical slide valve inclosed in saidv casin and having a rod projectingthrough said casing;l fieaiis on said rod whereby 'said' valve is alternately displaced so as to admit or exhaust the Huid from said iluid line, e

and a check valve 'connecting said valve casing on said fluid line with the atmosphere. whereby the pressure in said luidline, at the moment that the exhaust begins through said valve from said fluid line, :falls'fto the atmospheric pressure, substantiallyr as 'describe the compressed air, andthe cycle is again '75' 1 3. An apparatus of the class described,A

comprising a cylinder having a fluid admission and exhaust from the same Huid line at one end and a liquid admission and exhaust. at the other end, a valve casing having an admission and exhaust opening for fluid and associated .with said fluid line, a. cylindrical slide valve inclosed in said casing and having a rod projecting through said ca: ing, said rod having a yoke, and a disk having lugs on its opposite faces and adapted to alternately engage said yokeof said rod, one of said lugs being fixed on said disk and the other relatively to the lixed lug is adjustable on the opposite face of said disk, for the purposes above described'.

4. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a cylinder having a fluid admission and exhaust from the same Huid -line at one end and a liquid admission and exhaust at the other end, a valve casing having an admisison and outlet for a fluid and associated with said fluid line, a cylindrical slidable valve inclosed in said casing and normas having at one end la rod projecting through A the said casing and the other end having an axial bore facing the admission in said casl ing, said axial bore being provided with an the surface outlet of said axial bore andy at a predetermined distance from said out.- let, said bore forming` the exhaust partv of the valve, and means associated With the said rod of said valve whereby the ad mission and exhaust parts of said valve are alternately registering the `said Huid line with the admission and outlet of said valve casing, substantially as described.

lIn testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence ci two subscribing witnesses.

DUNCAN D. MoCALL. Witnesses:

A. K. TAYLOR, G. M. GRANBURY, 

